


Not A Normal Family

by A_dance_with_destiny



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: it was a cool ass idea so here i am, the first two chapters are on tumblr too but i moved over here, there might be light byler and mileven but nothing major so its not in the tags, this is based off of a tumblr post
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 12:51:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21136994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_dance_with_destiny/pseuds/A_dance_with_destiny
Summary: The battle of Starcourt ended disastrously. Joyce Byers, the beloved mother and friend, was dead. Instead of living with Hopper, Will and Jonathan are forced to live in Indianapolis with their deadbeat father, Lonnie. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Upside Down follows Will into his new life, and things get even stranger.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a post from tumblr by tumblr user willel that I absolutely adore. I never have time to write so don't expect quick updates, but I promise this will actually go somewhere soon. Lots of angst, so be warned, because apparently I don't know how to write anything happy. Anyways, enjoy, and comments are always appreciated.

** July 4, 1985**

“CLOSE IT NOW!”  


Dustin’s voice crackled through the walkie talkie. Hopper barely registered the words, all he could focus on was the figure a few yards away, hardly visible behind bright streams of light. He hesitated. Obviously, he couldn’t wait forever. There was no way Joyce could get down from the platform without being shot by Russians or sliced in half by a beam of energy. But if he did this, closed the gate and everything, she would die. No question. And if he didn’t…  


If he didn’t, El would die. Will and Jonathan would die. And Joyce, whether she made it out or not, would never forgive him.  
Hopper managed to make out her face from the control booth. She was smiling, a resigned, melancholy smile. Her head moved slowly in a nod. He couldn’t breathe. His heart had stopped. Yet his hands still moved to twist both of the keys, and his eyes, filled with tears, squeezed shut to avoid seeing the machine burst in a flash of light, shrapnel flying everywhere. The force of the blast sent a tremor through his body. He looked to where he last saw Joyce.  


She was gone.

\-----------------------------

Hopper walked slowly alongside Murray in the rain, flanked on either side by U.S. soldiers. He still couldn’t bear to think about what he had just seen. Joyce, his friend, his only _real_ friend, his…his… _something_, obliterated by a Russian machine that opened the gate to the Upside Down, the place that had tormented Joyce and her family for years. A cruel twist of fate.  


His eyes scanned the scene. Firefighters and official looking men running between cars, running into the burning mall. He saw figures sitting in the back of ambulances, shock blankets draped over their shoulders. The acrid smell of smoke wafted from the mall, bouncing off the wet asphalt. He stopped, letting the soldiers and Murray pass, and shifted his gaze between ambulances, looking for the tell-tale yellow shirt.  


_It’s my fault if she’s dead,_ Hopper thought, a shock of fear coursing through his body when he couldn’t locate El. _I told her to stay put, where the danger was. I didn’t turn the keys fast enough and now—_  


His eyes locked on El, sitting by herself in an ambulance, a nurse fussing with the bandage on her head. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and threw the blanket off her shoulders, running as fast as she could on her injured leg. They crashed into each other, Hopper’s tears finally spilling down his cheeks. He opened his eyes, arms wrapped around his daughter, and gazed across the parking lot to see Will slowly stand up, looking around. Will’s eyes settled on El and Hopper and flitted around the crowds of people on either side of them, a look of realization finally crashing upon his features. Hopper met his eyes, gripping El tightly, and hoped his face could say everything it needed to. He couldn’t speak if he tried.

Will crashed to his knees, face in his hands, shoulders shaking. He hoped he was wrong, that he misread Hopper’s expression, that his mom was around here somewhere, just talking to some government person or something. Maybe she just found Jonathan before she found him. He felt a hand on his shoulder.  


“Will? Where’s Mom?”  


Will’s sob caught in his chest. He felt like he might throw up. She obviously wasn’t with Jonathan.  


“Will! What’s happening?”  


Will finally looked up at his brother’s face. He wore the expression he always did lately, like the world had just caught on fire. Will shook his head and looked at Hopper, who was breaking away from El. He saw him start to navigate towards them through the chaos. Jonathan followed his gaze, and his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. El was trailing behind Hopper slowly, watching Will and looking around occasionally. Hopper kneeled down in front of Will and Jonathan with a heavy sigh.  


“I think… you already know what I’m gonna say,” he said, voice thick with tears. El tentatively crouched next to him, looking confused herself.  


“W...wait. Where’s my mom?” Jonathan said, his words breaking slightly. Will squeezed his eyes shut.  


“Uh. She, uh… we got caught up with the Russians again and the machine started and she couldn’t get back over and… I had to close it.”  


“I don’t understand. Are you saying the Russians took her or something? She’s just stuck in there, right?”  


Jonathan was sounding desperate now. His panicked eyes looked back and forth between Will and Hopper and El, and the burning mall behind them.  


“No, kid. We blew the machine up. She’s…” he paused, Seeing the devastated expressions on their faces, seeing El staring down at her hands. “Gone.”  


Will’s head was spinning. He felt his skull hit the cool metal frame of the ambulance, and finally opened his eyes to see Hopper watching him, tears running down his cheeks. Will had never seen Hopper cry before.  


It still hadn’t sunken in yet. Crying was almost automatic for Will, his emotions assuming the worst before his brain could catch up. Jonathan was still staring incredulously at Hopper.  


“I… what?” was all he managed to get out. Will heard soft footsteps approaching from his right, and looked over to see Mike lower himself between El and Will.  


“What’s happening?” he said, putting a hand over El’s. Hopper exhaled slowly.  


“Alright, why don’t we get out of the rain?” he said softly, moving to help the kids onto the ambulance.  


“El? What’s happening?” Mike wrapped an arm around her shoulders, staring at her intently with worried eyes. Will saw Hopper start saying something to Mike, and saw Jonathan starting to believe what he had heard, felt his hands begin to shake, heard his name being called from somewhere, but he didn’t care. His mom, his only real parent, was gone. She was probably the only person who understood what he had gone through, and what he was still going through. She was the one who reminded him to set his alarm in the mornings. She was his ticket out of a sleepover at Mike’s if he was having a particularly bad day. Will was scared. What were he and Jonathan supposed to do? They couldn’t exactly go back to normal, and it wasn’t like he had someone else to fill his mom’s place—  


But there was someone.  


His head immediately went into panic mode. _Oh no. Oh no no no nononononono—_  


But no. They wouldn’t make them go _there_. They probably wouldn’t even be welcomed there. It’s not like anyone would find out and hunt them down or anything, they could just stay… somewhere else.  


Will inhaled slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. He kept expecting to see his mom’s silhouette running out of the smoke from the mall, some injuries but otherwise unharmed. So far, there was nothing.  


From somewhere on his right, Mike was vocalizing his shock, still squeezing El’s hand. On his left, Jonathan was sitting silently, staring at the swirling inferno ahead of them, his tears glistening like molten lava in his eyes. 

\-----------------------------

**July 11, 1985**

“This is not a very unusual situation, Jim. When the kids still have a parent alive, that’s where they go.”  


The lawyer’s beady eyes were emotionless, blinking slowly, like he was bored with his job. Hopper was getting more and more frustrated every second he spent looking at this guy’s stupid face.  


“Yeah, I get that, but Lonnie doesn’t have custody, right? So they go somewhere else, right?”  


The bored-looking lawyer adjusted his pens on his desk. “Well, technically, there was never a custody battle. He is still their legal guardian.”  


The clock over the door was ticking louder than Hopper could think. Yet it still couldn’t drown out by far the most _annoying_ voice he had ever heard. _He just doesn’t get it,_ Hopper thought. _They can’t go live with that asshole, Joyce would never let that happen._  


But she did. She unknowingly and unintentionally ruined her kids’ lives by getting blown up in a secret Russian laboratory. Hopper closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.  


“Is there any way they won’t go to that— to Lonnie?”  


“I’m afraid that would require legal action, and none of us want to deal with that right now, do we? Not after that whole mall fiasco,” the lawyer smiled dryly, twisting his wedding ring as if to say, _Look at me, with my functional family life. How unfortunate for those kids. Ha ha._  


“Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it,” Hopper drawled, standing up to leave. “Have fun with your pen organizing.”

\-----------------------------

“What are we packing for, exactly?”  


Will was staring into his almost empty closet, holding an almost full box labeled _CLOTHES_ in his arms. Hopper had driven by that morning with El and told them to start packing before driving away. El said he had been acting weird all week.  


“We can’t just stay here, Will. I’m going to college… at some point… and you would probably go live with Hopper and El or something,” Jonathan said as he shoved various things into a box of his own.  


“I don’t know,” El murmured, sitting on the edge of Will’s bed. “He made it sound like you would have to go with your dad, but I think he’s going to talk to someone about it.”  


Will and Jonathan glanced knowingly at each other, neither of them speaking. If living with Lonnie was bad with their mom around, it would be hell without her.  


After a while, El spoke again, her voice barely audible over the shuffling of boxes.  


“What did he do?”  


Jonathan stopped packing, turning to face her. “What?”  


El fidgeted with the blue hair tie on her wrist. “Your dad. From what my dad said, it would be… bad if you went with him.” She paused, looking from Jonathan to Will and back again. “Is he like Papa?”  


Will looked at the floor. Jonathan sighed.  


“I mean… yeah. Kind of.”

\-----------------------------

Three hours later, Hopper’s brand new police car pulled into the driveway, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Will, Jonathan, and El were sitting in the living room, listening to one of Jonathan’s mixtapes. Packing had become an abandoned idea. The door squeaked open and Hopper walked in, a grim look on his face. He sat in the chair across from them, hunched over as if he was deep in thought.  


“I just spoke with a—“ he rolled his eyes slightly. “_—professional_ about your situation.”  


Will and Jonathan stared at him, silently willing him to go on. El was sitting in the corner of the couch, watching their faces. Hopper sighed heavily before continuing.  


“There’s nothing I can do.”  


No one spoke for a moment, knowing what was coming next. Will felt his throat tighten and his jaw clench. He forced himself to relax.  


“Your dad… has full custody over you now. By law, you have to go live with him. Jonathan, you won’t be there for very long, since you’re almost 18, but…” Hopper cut off, eyes drifting to Will. El saw Will’s face fall, and reached out to grab his clenched hand.  


Hopper continued, twisting his hat in his hands. “I reached out to Lonnie about a week ago, told him that… told him what happened. I’ll call him later tonight about the custody situation. In the meantime, you guys should finish packing soon.”  


Nobody spoke. Will glanced at Jonathan, who was already looking at him. Jonathan gave him a weak smile, an attempt to comfort the twisting feeling in Will’s stomach. His fears were confirmed. This wouldn’t be the worst thing that had ever happened to him (obviously, nothing can top possession), but it would make the rest of his life miserable. As if it wasn’t miserable enough already.

\-----------------------------

Jonathan was livid.  


Of course, the legality of a 17 year old working a minimum wage job and taking care of his kid brother was extremely questionable, but Will living with _Lonnie?_  


The last time Jonathan had talked to his father was just after Will disappeared. Lonnie said he wanted to see them. Lie. Lonnie said he wasn’t the asshole. Lie. Lonnie said he cared. _Lie._ He was just about the worst parent Jonathan had ever come across. If you could even call him a parent. Jonathan needed to do something about this, even if it required going to court. If he had to see Will in pain one more time, he could never forgive himself for letting his brother, and mother, down.  


That’s why as soon as Hopper told them the news, Jonathan drove to the library and checked out all the law books he could. He also started looking in the newspaper for job openings. He knew Hopper would never let him follow through with this, but what would he be if he didn’t try?

\-----------------------------

“Hello?”  


Lonnie heard the chirpy voice from all the way across the house. He hated how his girlfriend, Lisa, always put on that annoying baby voice on the phone. It gave him headaches. He’d tried telling her to stop, but no such luck.  


“May I ask who’s calling?” Lisa trilled, and Lonnie stood up to shut the door, rolling his eyes as he heard Lisa pop a gum bubble. They had been together for about a year now, having met in a bar downtown. Despite the overpriced food, it was a decent spot to get away from whatever “domestic life” Lisa wanted to start. As if he would ever have kids again.  


“LONNIE!” Lisa called from the living room. “IT’S FOR YOU!”  


Lonnie, hand still on the doorknob, huffed impatiently and trudged to the phone, pulling it from Lisa’s grip.  


“Hello?”  


“This is Chief Jim Hopper, I’m calling regarding the… incident that I told you about last week?”  


Right. The Incident. When Hopper had called on the 5th, a day after it happened, Lonnie was less than surprised. Of course Joyce would run off into a burning mall and get herself killed. Probably to save one of her _precious angels_ or something. In fact, Lonnie was barely sad. At least he wouldn’t have to talk to her anymore, not that he did before. Sure, he may have loved her at one point, but those times were far behind him.  


“Yeah. Do I have to help plan the funeral or something?”  


He heard the chief laugh dryly on the other end of the line. “No, that’s not… I’m calling about your kids.”  


Lonnie froze. _Crap._ The kids. Of course he would be saddled with them again after all these years. This was _just_ what he needed.  


Wait. Kids? Plural?  


“What about the kids?” he said muttered, trying not to let Lisa hear.  


“They’re legally in your custody now.”  


Lonnie shook his head, making sure he was hearing things correctly. “Uh, okay. How are they holding up?”  


There was a dull silence. He heard people muttering to each other before Hopper answered again. “They’re doing a bit better. So, you’re taking them to Indianapolis? When do you think you’ll pick them up?”  


Yep. Them. They. _Plural._ Like he didn’t drive all the way out to Hawkins to comfort his ex over one of their _deaths_ just two years ago. What the hell? Did she have more?  


And besides that, Hopper sounded surprised. Like he didn’t think Lonnie would be willing to take them in. Asshole.  


He was right, though.  


“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe in the next couple of days or so. I’ll stay for the funeral.”  


More muttering. “Okay, great. Nice talking with you, Lonnie.”  


And just like that, he hung up.

\-----------------------------

Hopper put down the phone, a look of disbelief on his face. Did Lonnie actually care enough to take the kids in willingly? He shook his head and sat down at the Byers’ kitchen table. The funeral. He hadn’t even thought about that. He looked into the living room to see the kids admiring some of Will’s drawings, El occasionally asking what it meant. Jonathan would laugh and Will would say something about El needing to play DnD more. Hopper was glad they had found a way to distract themselves.  


He pulled Jonathan aside later that night, and told him about his call with Lonnie.  


“He’s probably just glad he’ll get the house, too, so he can sell it and buy more booze,” Jonathan said with an eye roll, leaning against the hallway wall.  


“Yeah, that’s what I figured.”  


“You’re not seriously gonna give up and let us go with that _monster_, right?  


“This isn’t up for debate. There’s nothing I can do about it, and definitely nothing you can do about it,” Hopper snapped, raising his voice as loud as he dared. He sighed, shaking his head. “But we really should talk about the funeral.”  


Jonathan lowered his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah. I know.”  


“Listen, kid, I can do all the heavy lifting, alright? You don’t need to do everything yourself. Especially planning your own mom’s funeral.”  


Jonathan shifted, pulling his arms tighter to his chest. “It’s just… we have to be on a budget, you know? I still have a job and everything, but… there used to be two of us bringing in income.”  


“I get it,” Hopper nodded. “I’ll help out with some of that.” He considered the idea of digging up Will’s old coffin, since it had never really been used, but thought that bringing that up would be a bit insensitive. Hopper saw Jonathan glance at his brother and El, smiling slightly as they laughed about something Will had said.  


“I could do it, you know. Take care of him.”  


Hopper sighed. “No. You couldn’t. Joyce wouldn’t want you to, and it would be bad for the both of you.”  


“Worse than living with an alcoholic with anger issues?” Jonathan retorted under his breath, his eyes alight with anger.  


Hopper said nothing.  


“Look, I’m just saying it’s not good for Will to suddenly move and switch schools and have a completely different lifestyle. Enough’s happened to him already.”  


Hopper closed his eyes, thinking. “It might be good for him. To get out of here. You know, your mom was thinking about moving before all of this happened.”  


Jonathan paused. “What?”  


“Yeah. She thought it would be better if you got out of Hawkins. And I think I agree with her.”  


Jonathan’s mouth was open slightly, his eyebrows knitted together. He turned away with a scowl, walking down the hallway to his bedroom. Hopper could feel a headache coming on. He sat down at the table again as El shrieked with laughter, making papers go flying haphazardly around the room. He couldn’t help but agree with Jonathan. Lonnie was the last thing either of them needed. But if he did anything, it would be make sure those two got the hell away from danger. He knew Joyce would agree with him. He knew it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is slightly angstier than the last chapter and it only gets sadder from here! If you need me to include any additional tags, comment them and I'll include them. This also isn't the best quality because it was kinda rushed but it's fine

**July 15, 1985**

“Well, this should be fun, won’t it, babe? I get to meet your kiddos!” Lisa was packing their suitcase for their visit to Hawkins. The funeral was set for next Saturday, and they were leaving on the 16th, five days before the reception.  


“Yeah, should be super,” Lonnie grunted, a beer can in one hand and the other hand running through his hair. He still hadn’t wrapped his head around how his second son came back from the dead, if that’s even what happened. Maybe Joyce had just met someone else and had a kid in the two years since his last visit. He couldn’t imagine that happening.  


Despite his initial reservations, he was actually somewhat interested in taking the boys again. First of all, he wanted to know why there were two, all of a sudden, and he wanted to see how screwed up they had turned out after Joyce and her lunatic parenting. They had to be absolute nutcases.  


Hopper hadn’t given him any more instruction, other than where the funeral would be held. The chief had called to ask when they would be coming out, and Lonnie gave the clipped reply, “This Tuesday,” then hung up. Lisa seemed to be the most excited out of any of them.  


“I hope they like me. I mean, I don’t want them to think I’m replacing their mom or anything,” she said, continuing to pack. Lonnie hadn’t told her anything about his relationship with Joyce. She seemed to assume he still had some contact with the kids since the divorce. He smirked, thinking of her reaction when things got awkward.  


“I’m sure they’ll love you,” Lonnie deadpanned.  


—————————–

**July 16, 1985**

Jonathan was hunched over the table, trying to sort through a pile of bills and junk mail and funeral plans. Will sat in his room with Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Max, trying to pack away anything else he wouldn’t need for the week. Hopper and El were on their way, but unfortunately, so was Lonnie.  


“Um, what the _hell_ is that?”  


Will looked up to see Max pointing at a bug crawling along one of the boxes. It looked almost sluglike, but with legs. Will looked away. He didn’t want to have another panic attack, not over a stupid bug, and especially not today.  


“Awww, don’t kill it, it’s cute!” Dustin grinned and picked it up from the box with a piece of paper.  


“Gross,” Max shuddered as Dustin let it out the window. Will breathed a sigh of relief.  


“Hey, you okay?” Mike asked, grabbing another box. Will laughed shakily.  


“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a bug.”  


“No, I mean about… “  


Right. That. Will was trying to forget about it, but Indianapolis wasn’t that far from Hawkins and he would be here in a few hours at most. Will shrugged.  


“I guess,” he said, dodging Mike’s curious look.  


From the bedroom, they heard the front door open and close. Everyone held their breath, and Will squeezed through his friends to peek his head out the door.  


Just Hopper. Thank God.  


El came bounding into his room, immediately grabbing the radio and tuning it to her favorite station.  


“Well, hello to you too,” Lucas said with a laugh. El flopped on Will’s bed, taking in the packing process.  


“It looks the same,” she said, pointing out their lack of progress, and everyone else stared at her.  


“Thanks,” Max said, rolling her eyes playfully. Will laughed along with everyone else, but stopped upon hearing something outside. He practically launched himself to the radio to turn it down, and ran back to the other side of the room to press his ear against the door. The faint hum of an engine and blasting music greeted him, and he turned to face his friends.  


“I think he’s here.”  


A frantic knock on the door spiked Will’s heartbeat, and he opened it slowly to see Jonathan standing there, holding a pen as if it were a weapon. He was breathing heavily, like he had just run a mile. “It’s dad.”  


Will nodded and cracked the door, closing his eyes. Max put a hand on his shoulder.  


“Just say as little as possible, and as soon as you can, come back and tell us everything.”  


Will nodded again, and inched the door open slowly. He wanted it to all be a dream, for him to wake up and his mom would be back and Lonnie wouldn’t have shown up. He felt his palms get clammy as he cautiously made his way into the kitchen, where Jonathan and Hopper were standing at the table.

—————————–

_Knock, knock, knock._  


Jonathan pursed his lips and stepped towards the door.  


**_Knock, knock, knock._**  


He opened the door to be greeted with a puff of cigarette smoke.  


“Jonathan! Long time no see.”  


He was suddenly engulfed in beer-stenched clothes and cheap cologne. He pushed away from Lonnie to see that he looked exactly the same as their last meeting. The only difference was he had a different girlfriend. She was beaming, her teeth ivory-white, and her muddy brown eyes peering curiously around Jonathan, into the house. She gave him a small wave. He didn’t wave back.  


Lonnie shoved past him with a massive suitcase and stopped to take in the house. His eyes drifted from where the axe-made hole used to be, to the various nails left over from the yards of Christmas lights. He saw Lonnie smile smugly; this was his new kingdom, he was in charge now. Jonathan saw his face shift when his eyes landed on Will, standing in the kitchen with Hopper at his side. He couldn’t tell what he was feeling. Maybe it was hatred. Maybe it was fear.

—————————–

Will watched Jonathan’s painful reaction to the forced hug from Lonnie. He wondered why Lonnie thought he had the right to do that. After all, neither of them had seen him for _years_ and Lonnie was just strutting right into their house like he owned the place. He locked eyes with his father and immediately felt like he was going to be sick. Lonnie looked like he felt that way, too.  


Will couldn’t place his expression. It scared him, not knowing exactly what his dad thought. If he was mad, he would lash out. If he was _anything_, really, he would probably lash out. Will looked up at Hopper, who looked like he wanted to commit homicide.  


Lonnie’s eyes narrowed, his mouth twisted in a frown. Will shrunk under his stare.  


He heard the door to his room squeak slightly, and looked around the corner to see Max’s vibrant hair swishing out of view. He looked at Lonnie, hoping he hadn’t noticed. He hadn’t. Lonnie’s face cracked into a smile, and he walked towards Will with outstretched arms. Will tensed up, feeling arms wrap around his shoulders. He could tell the embrace had no emotion, contrary to his mom’s warm, tight hugs. Will shrugged away as soon as Lonnie loosened his grip. Hopper stepped in front of him, crossing his arms.  


“So.”  


Lonnie laughed quietly, dangerously, and stepped closer to Hopper. “Jim. Why don’t we talk?”

—————————–

The two slipped into Joyce’s bedroom, the farthest from the living room. Hopper stood by the door, his expression icy. Lonnie was the one to speak first.  


“Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me that my son is alive?”  


Hopper laughed incredulously. “Why do you think? You’re an asshole, and you wouldn’t have cared one way or another.”  


Lonnie blanched. He knew this had been Hopper’s opinion of him for a while, but to hear it so abruptly, after multiple civil phone conversations, was a shock.  


“What did you just say?”  


“Stop acting like you’re above everything, Lonnie. And yes, Will is alive. But you would’ve known that if you’d bothered to check the news,” Hopper growled, opening the door and stalking out before slamming it with a bang. Lonnie stood in the middle of the room, fuming. Hopper had always been entitled and rude, but this was all new. He thought that just because he was the Big Police Man that he could say anything he pleased, but as soon as he got out of this shit town, Hopper would have no power over him. No one would.

—————————–

As soon as Hopper and Lonnie disappeared behind the door of Joyce’s old room, Will turned to look at Jonathan, his face twisted with fear. Jonathan shook his head. “Shit.”  


He turned around to see Lisa tentatively stepping through the doorway, clutching her bag in her arms.  


“Hi,” she said nervously, awkwardly extending her hand towards Jonathan. “I’m Lisa. Your dad has probably mentioned me before…"  


She sheepishly lowered her arm when Jonathan didn’t react. Will shuffled down the hall towards his room, cringing away from the yelling voices in the next room. He opened the door to find his friends all crowding around the opening, staring.  


“Hey,” he mumbled, easing the door shut again. He felt five pairs of eyes boring into his skull as he stood against the door, staring at the floor.  


“Are you okay?”  


Will looked up and locked eyes with Mike, who was stepping out of the cluster. He nodded, wincing as a door slammed across the hall.  


“What happened?” El asked, standing beside Mike. She looked concerned, not fully understanding what was going on.  


Will shrugged half-heartedly. “Nothing really. He just showed up and then went and talked with Hop I guess.”  


He felt his eyes start to prickle with tears and forced himself to calm down. It was a system overload. The last time he had heard from Lonnie was in his house in the Upside Down, hearing his mom screaming and accusing him of only showing up to Will’s funeral for the money. He remembered every word, guilt invading his mind after realizing that _he_ had caused Lonnie to come back, _he_ had caused his mother’s hurt.  


He wondered if he was only here for _her_ funeral for the money.  


He tried to despise Lonnie, he really did. He saw how easily Jonathan had pushed away from the hug, saw his disgusted face. Will didn’t _like_ Lonnie, per se, but he still felt the need to please him. To avoid his disappointment at all costs, because what it usually led to had often invaded Will’s nightmares, before they were taken over by the Upside Down.  


Will heard the door to Joyce’s room open again, and crept back into the hallway. Lonnie was sauntering out the front door, making his way towards Hopper’s police car. He saw Lisa starting to bring in more stuff from the car, and Jonathan was sitting at the table again, his head in his hands.  


“Why does he have to suck so much?” came Jonathan’s muffled voice from behind his palms. “Why can’t he just be normal?”  


Will crossed the room to sit down next to his brother.  


“I thought it wasn’t good to be normal.”  


He had meant it as a joke, but it came out sounding more like judgement. Jonathan sighed in reply.  


“He doesn’t know he’s being mean. He’s just trying to help. Because he cares about us.”  


Jonathan’s head snapped up. “You think he cares? Seriously? Are we talking about the same person here? I don’t know why you’re defending him after everything he’s done to you, Will. Did you know he came to your funeral, and then Mom found a flyer for some lawyer who could help him sue the quarry or something? He doesn’t give a shit about us, never has.”  


Will felt a lump in his throat. He tried to take deep breaths, quelling the tears. “Yeah. I heard about that.”  


“Listen. I’m gonna get us out of this, okay? Once we get to Indianapolis we could leave and he probably wouldn’t even notice.”  


Will felt a tear slip down his face. He feigned scratching his cheek to ensure Jonathan didn’t see.  


“I don’t want to live with him.” Will’s voice came out squeaky, and he cleared his throat, trying to sound brave. “I just think maybe he’s changed.”  


Jonathan laughed harshly. “People like that don’t change.”

—————————–

Lonnie stormed across the driveway to where Hopper’s car was parked. Hopper was sitting in the driver’s seat, lighting a cigarette. He looked over at Lonnie and slowly rolled down the window.  


Lonnie’s head was swarming with things to say to him, but he ignored all of it, and spit.  


Right in Hopper’s stupid, pretentious, face.  


“These are my kids, not yours. I decide what to do with them,” Lonnie said, his voice low and dangerous. Hopper glared at Lonnie as he turned away, stalking back to the house. Lisa had her back turned, but Hopper could tell she had heard everything.

Back inside, finally free of judgement, Lonnie smirked and sat down at the table across from Jonathan and Will.  


“So, how’s life been?”  


Jonathan rolled his eyes. “Fantastic. Completely uneventful.”  


Lonnie sighed. “Look, I know you’re not my biggest fan, but please, behave, for your brother’s sake.”  


Jonathan glared at him and pushed up from the table, walking outside. Lonnie turned to look at Will.  


“Have you gotten into baseball yet?” he asked, putting on a fake smile.  


Will shrugged, remember Max’s advice to say as little as possible. Lonnie continued.  


“I just thought, maybe, you’d want to try it out as you got older.”  


Will knew that tone. He had to tread carefully here. Lonnie was like a time bomb, any wrong move would set him off and leave Will sobbing, and he didn’t want to cry for the second time today.  


“I don’t know, there’s just been a lot going on. With school and stuff.”  


“Your voice is deeper. That’s a good sign,” Lonnie laughed, gripping Will’s shoulder tightly. Will stared at the table, trying to blink back tears. He hated being so sensitive; even when Lonnie hadn’t really done anything yet, he was already almost crying.  


“I, uh, I’ve been meaning to ask you. What exactly happened when everyone thought you were dead?”  


Will took a breath, digging up the default response that everyone always replied with when the question was asked. “It was just someone that looked like me. The water made it so you couldn’t really see his face anymore.”  


Will wasn’t sure if Lonnie could even hear him. He couldn’t really hear himself over the pounding in his ears. He looked up slightly to see Lonnie’s skeptical gaze, one eyebrow raised. Lonnie hummed and got up from the table, following Lisa through the house to Joyce’s room. Lisa looked at Will with a small smile.  


He took in a shaky breath, trying to stop himself from sobbing, but every time he tried to calm himself down, another memory of his mom would pop up. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He couldn’t even bring himself to think about how horrible the rest of his life with Lonnie would be. He remembered when he and his mom went to the bike store for the first time. When Joyce told him the news that he would be getting a new bike, Will was ecstatic.  


—————————-

_“Seriously? I don’t have to use Jonathan’s anymore?”  
_

_Joyce chuckled, ruffling Will’s hair. He was grinning from ear to ear, practically vibrating in excitement. Joyce knew he had been admiring Dustin’s new bike, hoping for one of his own but being too polite to ask.  
_

_“Can we go today?” Will asked, already running to the front door, searching for his shoes.  
_

_“Of course we can go today,” Joyce grinned, fishing her keys out of her purse. By the time she looked up, Will was already halfway out the front door.  
_

_During the drive, Will wouldn’t stop talking.  
_

_“So I’m thinking about the kind that Dustin has. Mike’s is nice, but I don’t like little thing on the back.”  
_

_“What little thing?” Joyce prompted. It wasn’t often that Will would talk this much, even to her. He’s a thinker, that's what his teachers would always say.  
_

_“I don’t know, it’s almost like an extra seat. But anyways, I like how fast Dustin’s can go.”  
_

_Inside the bike store, Will was darting around between styles and colors, his face twisted in concentration.  
_

_“I like this one!” he piped up from across the store. Joyce maneuvered towards Will past bikes and other excited kids.  
_

_“Wow! That one’s nice!”  
_

_“I know! So can I get it?”  
_

_“Sure. Let me find someone to help us get it down.”_  


—————————-

Will felt red hot tears slipping down his cheeks. He couldn’t stop the memories from coming. Everything, from the smell of the summer air to the sounds of a lawn mower in the distance, brought up something that reminded him of his mom. He was spiraling. This was worse than the bug in his room, worse than any reminder of the Upside Down. Somehow, this was more real. Will dropped his head into his arms resting on the table, and tried to drown out her voice ringing through his head.


End file.
